Elements, Mobility, and Resilience Compared: What’s the Difference and Where to Start

Elements, Resilience, and Mobility are our three most popular programs, and if you’re new to what we teach, they might seem similar.

All three programs use movement-based training. They’re all appropriate for beginners through advanced levels (though in different ways). And they all address common problems like stiffness, weakness, and limited mobility.

But each one has a different purpose:

• Elements builds a complete foundation of strength, flexibility, and motor control through progressive movement practice. It’s the comprehensive program that will benefit just about anyone.
• Resilience strengthens your joints and builds injury resistance through deliberate loading and fall-readiness training. It’s designed as a supplement to your existing strength training or sports practice.
• Mobility develops greater range of motion across all your major joints using targeted flexibility work and functional movements. It’s an add-on program for people who need more mobility work alongside their current training.

Here’s what you need to know to choose the right one…

Elements: The Foundation of the GMB Curriculum

Elements builds strength, flexibility, and motor control through progressive movement practice. It’s a complete training program on its own.

Elements is for you if you relate to any of the following:

• You want a steady, progressive program that covers all the bases
• You’re interested in functional movements that build real-world capability
• You like to learn about and improve on your weaknesses
• You want a solid foundation to prepare for harder training and more complex skills

Elements uses four core movements (Bear, Monkey, Frogger, and Crab) taught across three progressive levels (Gradual, General, and Accelerated). As the program progresses, you’ll learn more challenging variations of each movement and combine them into flows.

Many people repeat the entire program multiple times, and each round builds on what you learned before. Even after several rounds, you’ll continue making progress as you refine quality, increase ease, and challenge yourself with more complex variations.

For best results, plan for 90+ minutes per week. You can split this into six 15-minute sessions or three 30-minute sessions, depending on your schedule.

Elements

Practice essential movements for practical physical fitness

Resilience: Targeted Joint Strength & Injury Resistance

Resilience strengthens your joints and connective tissues through deliberate loading and fall-readiness training.

This is not rehab, and it’s not mobility work. It’s injury prevention for people who do high-impact activities.

Resilience is for you if you relate to any of the following:

• You train regularly with weights, martial arts, running, or other demanding activities
• You’ve dealt with joint pain or minor injuries that keep coming back
• You want to toughen your body to handle the demands you’re putting on it
• You need something to complement your current training without interfering

Resilience works by progressively loading your joints and teaching your body to absorb impact safely. This strengthens the connective tissues that protect you during intense training or unexpected movements.

Because joints and tendons need recovery time, you should not do this program daily. We recommend 2-3 sessions per week at 15-30 minutes each.

Resilience

Toughen your joints and resist common injuries

Mobility: Expand Your Range of Motion

Mobility develops greater range of motion across all your major joints using targeted stretches and functional movements. It’s designed to work alongside any training program or sports practice you’re already doing.

Mobility is for you if you relate to any of the following:

• You know you should work on your mobility but need a clear plan to follow
• You notice significant tightness after periods of sitting or standing
• You want to enhance your workouts by having better flexibility and range of motion
• You’re limited in certain movements because of tight hips, shoulders, or back

Mobility combines PNF (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation) stretching with movements similar to what you’d see in Elements. But instead of building combinations like Elements does, Mobility uses these movements to train your central nervous system to access new ranges of motion efficiently.

The program is extremely flexible in how you use it. You can do daily 15-minute sessions, use it as a warm-up or cool-down for your other training, dedicate rest days to 45-minute sessions, or fit it in however works for your schedule.

Mobility

Release tight joints for fewer pains and better performance

How to Choose the Right Program for Your Needs

So… which one should you start with?

The honest answer depends on what you’re doing now and what you’re trying to change.

If you don’t have a consistent training practice or you’re looking for a complete program that covers strength, mobility, and motor control, start with Elements. It’s designed to be a standalone practice that builds everything you need for real-world capability.

If you’re already training regularly (lifting weights, CrossFit, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, running, etc.) and want to prevent injuries or strengthen vulnerable joints, add Resilience. It’s built to complement your existing training without interfering with it.

If you’re already training and your main issue is tightness or limited range of motion, add Mobility. This is specifically focused on expanding your available movement and works well alongside any strength or sport practice.

What About Combining Programs?

You can, but most people do better to focus on one thing at a time.

Pick one program, work through it for at least a few weeks, then decide if you need to add something else. Most people find that Elements alone gives them what they need. Some add Resilience or Mobility later when they’ve identified a specific gap.

You can see a full outline of how our entire training curriculum fits together.

FAQ: Comparing GMB Programs

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